Aid workers under threat say Iraqis need control

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L27612913.htm

LONDON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Dangers facing aid workers in Iraq are as bad as they are in Afghanistan or reminiscent of the chaos of Somalia 10 years ago, aid agencies said.

Relief agencies, worried Iraqis do not perceive them as independent from occupying U.S.-led forces, say security is unlikely to improve until Iraqis feel they have control over their country and their lives.

"Security and the provision of basic services are essential to create stability in Iraq," Save the Children director general Mike Aaronson said in a statement on behalf of British aid agencies.

Civil unrest, often fuelled by frustration at a lack of basic services such as electricity and water supplies and street crime, has forced many agencies to withdraw from southern Iraq.

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